Chapter 6
It had taken some effort to get out of the capital city without drawing unwanted attention, though any vehicle driving through the palace gates tended to draw a bit of a crowd as people tried to see if anyone of importance was inside. The crowd stuck to them for maybe a block or two before the car merged with normal city traffic, thus allowing them to travel freely. The driver took them down several detours, and they passed the train station they wanted to go to several times before they were dropped off at the departures. No one paid them any mind, neither one of them looking like any one of real importance. Padme was dressed simply in a floral sun dress with a cardigan while Anakin wore a blue button up shirt and slacks. To passers, they looked no different than any of the hundreds of other young couples traveling on vacation.
From the front seat, one of Padme's handmaidens had accompanied them for one final goodbye and as their driver went to the back to retrieve their bags, the two women shared a tight hug. "Remember, if you need any of us, we can get out there in one hour if we need to scramble a chopper," She whispered into Padme's hair.
Padme rolled her eyes and shook her head. "I'll be fine," She assured, taking her friends hands in hers. "Just promise me, Dorme you'll look out for my sister. God only knows what she'll do without me here." They laughed as the driver reached over to pass her the bag. She smiled at him as he bowed his head, "Safe travels, your— ma'am." He corrected himself, clearing his throat as he adjusted his tie. "Paddy will meet you at the station."
She nodded in understanding, "I know, Typho," She said, "And thank you."
The driver bit his tongue before he spoke again, "I know it's too late to change your mind but… just remember to be careful. Security isn't as tight as it is here."
"And that's exactly why we're going. And you know I can protect myself if I need to." She glanced over at Anakin who was standing on the curb adjusting the straps of his backpack. "Besides, it's not like I'll be alone."
Dorme gave a suggestive smirk while Typho grimaced. "That is another reason to be careful," He said, only to receive a swat from Dorme. After another round of goodbyes, Padme went to Anakin's side, walking with him into the station with a sense of excitement and trepidation. This was the first time in a long time that she was traveling alone. No security, no entourage, no press… it was a strange feeling but not wholly unwelcome.
Glancing to her left, Anakin hid very little of his nervousness. He was tense and his fingers tapped a rhythmless tune on the straps of his backpack as they walked. He still knew very little about where they were going. Few people outside the royal family ever went to the lake house. In her whole life, there had only been one time during the summer where the house had been opened to a tour and that was when she was five and it was for the 500th anniversary of the region joining Naboo.
After passing through security and making their way to the waiting room, they both bought some coffee and a fresh pastry from one of the small food kiosks before finding a place to sit. Being the middle of the summer months, the station was heavily crowded. Trains were called going to just about anywhere; Madrid, London, Paris… Naboo a central point in Europe that could get to just about any station in the continent with times ranging from two hours to fourteen.
They had maybe a half hour before their train began boarding and so Padme took the time to sit back in her seat and lean closer to Anakin. He smiled at her and took her hand in his. On instinct, she glanced around, expecting the act to garner some kind of reaction, but it didn't. Completely inconspicuous. This was nice. Padme sighed as she leaned her head on his shoulder, feeling almost giddy with this small yet very public display of any kind of affection. Yet as thrilling as it was, she could not wait until they arrived at the lake house. Privacy was something she felt they desperately needed if they were to cultivate any kind of relationship be it a good friendship or… something more. The attraction she felt to him was hard to ignore, and his equal attraction to her was so new that she felt like if he said jump, she would do it willingly. But Padme was not an impulsive person, while her heart pulled one way, her mind wanted justify that pull. Time was the best way to figure things out. And Anakin didn't seem to argue with that.
Their platform was called, and gathering their stuff, they made their way down. Padme had only been on a commercial train maybe twice in her whole life. Whenever she traveled by train, it was often in the Royal train car which was a short four or six car train that was specially reserved for her family and their guests. Typho had tried to convince her to travel using that, but she argued against it, as it would have required too much re-scheduling of trains and would have drawn too much attention. besides, the train ride wouldn't be too long. A quick three-hour train ride was nothing that needed excess luxury and security.
The conductor walked along the platform, calling the train details in English, French and Spanish to make sure people got on the right train car. Unlike the trains that were crossing the boarders into Spain or France, the train they were boarding was slightly smaller with fewer cars and was of an older more elegant design. The Lake Country was a cultural landmark for Naboo and thus was one of the least industrialized regions of the country. With only two main train lines going in and out of the region, the trains that were on those lines took great pride in the beauty of the Lake Country and designed the trains so that they fit in with everything else there.
Anakin was the first of them to step up into their car. He carried their bags up the three steps to the seating area before stepping back to help her in as well. She took his hand gratefully as she stepped over the gap and followed him inside. The car they were in was one of the first class cars with glass doors that separated each booth to allow the passengers privacy. They walked down a bit until they reached the middle of the car where their booth was. The retractable table was pulled out half way and set with two plates with warm bread rolls and two glasses of white wine. They stored their bags on the racks overhead and sat down across from one another. Anakin's attention immediately went to the bread as he picked it up and took a bite. He let out a pleased moan as he eagerly took another bite, and another until it was gone. Padme giggled and shook her head as she too ate, albeit much slower. The moment she bit into it, she understood exactly why Anakin reacted the way he had. Five blossom bread. A Naboo pastry renowned for its sweetness and historical role during the famine of 1568. Made with a basic bread dough, and mixed with milla sage flowers and a combination of sugars; it is said that no two bakers use the exact same recipe. Every family had baked however they could, and that was how each family had recorded it. Five blossom bread was one of those old traditions that carried on even today. And while the bread on the train was a more commercialized version of it, made to fit the taste of anyone who had it, it still tasted good and based on Anakin's reaction to it, she secretly wondered how he'd react to her own family recipe.
The Minister of Finance and the Minister of Transportation were in the middle of a heated debate in front of the Queen and her cabinet. Sola had been here since mid-day and after long hours of deliberation, her energy and her patience was wearing thin. The two old men were arguing about… was it modifications to an airport? Or one of the ferry routes? She honestly couldn't remember. All she knew was that whatever the Minister of Transportation wanted would cost too much money, while the Minister of Transportation suggested something to do with lowering funds to… whatever. All of it was enough to make her want to slam her head against the fine wood desk! Her eyes drifted to the opulent clock that sat on the desk. The hands ticked quietly as she watched it, thinking only about how long it would take the cook to make her favorite dish and have it brought to her sitting room, and then how long she should reasonably stay up watching cheesy romance films before going to bed. None of this really surprised her. All this stuff was boring to her. And while she did her duty, and tried to do at least as well as her father before her, it was still a difficult transition for her.
A knock on her office door was the only thing that had the bickering ministers stop for a moment as a servant walked in and bowed his head. "Pardon, your Majesty, but the representative from Eckner Contracting is here," He said.
"Huh?" Sola scrunched her nose as she tried to dig through her head for the name.
"The contracting service hired to build the children's home in Theed, Ma'am."
She remembered a little about the project. It was her father's idea, and she knew that she had… something to do. She just couldn't remember what exactly. nevertheless, whatever it was, it couldn't be nearly as boring as whatever these fossils were talking about. "Ah, yes! Of course," She said, plastering on an apologetic smile as she looked at her ministers. "I do apologize, ladies and gentlemen, but we will need to reconvene at a later time."
The ministers all bowed as they bid her a good evening and made small last minute requests for her to look at things or consider something, all of which she let blur into one thought which she pushed to the back of her mind as they all exited. The servant stood at the door, holding it open for the ministers as they filed out. Once they were gone, two more servants entered, speedily collecting forgotten tea cups, and straitening out the seats and bringing her a fresh pot of tea. Sola took this moment to slump into her desk chair as she took a long gulp of tea, savoring the momentary silence.
"Shall I send him in?" The servant asked once the last of the servants tidying left.
She wanted to just send him away and get on with her evening… but, that would be rude. And that would just mean she'd have to see him another time. With a reluctant sigh, she gave the order to send him in. As she waited, she straitened herself up, and lightly tapped her cheeks to try and make herself more alert. A knock on the door, and then it opened revealing a young man with dark curly hair walking in. He carried a file under one arm as he came to stand in the middle of the room before her.
"Your Majesty," He said, bowing at the waist. He looked a little disheveled for someone who had an audience with a queen. His face was stubbly, and his gray suit looked a little small, the shoulders too tight and the jacket too short. His white dress shirt looked un-ironed and overall, it looked like he was called in to meet with her at the very last minute. Strike one for this Eckner Contracting company. "I thank you for reaching out to us. I understand there is a discrepancy with the estimate we gave you. I'd be happy to go over it with you in detail, if you'd like." He had a pleasant smile as he gestured to the file in his hand.
Sola nodded once, "Yes, I think that is necessary," She said, looking back at the door where the servant stood waiting, "Would you please bring me the estimate that was brought to me?" She asked the servant, who nodded and retreated, only to return barely a moment later with the file in question in hand. Sola took it and make a show of flipping though it thoughtfully. When she got to the last page with the estimate she tapped the number lightly and ticked her tongue. "Yes, you see, I received an estimate of £2.4 million," She said, "Tell me, is that what you have Mister… I'm sorry, I never got your name."
"Janren, your Majesty, Darred Janren." He bowed his head again and opened the file in his hands, skimming it as he checked what he had. "And yes, that is our estimate."
"Well, Mr. Janren. It seems that estimate is much too high," She said. "My ministers have informed me that such a project should only cost around £1.8 million."
He smiled not unkindly as he nodded, "In an ideal situation, yes," He agreed. "But that is not the case here." He pulled out a blueprint and walked up to her desk — uninvited — and laid it down in front of her. The blueprint had two sets of markings on it. One was in a brown pencil while the other was in white. A series of calculations were written in the corners of the paper, with a few squiggle notes on a few placed within the building layout. Sola didn't understand any of it just looking at it. Darred pointed at the markings. "The brown lines are the current building that is on the plot right now. The white is what the Foundation wants built," He explained. "See, we initially went through the current structure to make sure everything was sound, and to make note of anything that needs to be brought up to code. If the structure was sound and met modern code, we could easily write an estimate for maybe…" His eyes rolled up as his fingers tapped for a moment, clearly running the numbers in his head, "£1.6 give or take £0.3. but this," He pointed at the blueprint again, "The interior is trashed." He pointed at several rooms with notes scribbled on them, "Damaged support beams, corroded walls, asbestos, damage to the foundation; it is in too poor a condition to settle for much less than £2.4."
Sola looked at the blueprint and sighed. "We can't fund that much," She said. "You need to come up with a better estimate."
"We can't."
"Then perhaps we will find someone who can."
Darred bowed his head, "If that is what you wish. But I'm telling you, if anyone does go below our number, they're going to do a superficial job of it."
She gave him a half smile, "Your concern is noted," she said. "I thank you for your insight."
He gave a polite bow and collected his things before being escorted out. On his exit, one of her handmaidens entered, ready with a notepad no doubt filled with the details on what she had to do tomorrow, one of which she knew was to arrange for a new contractor.
